Harmful Residues in Clothing Fabrics--Detection Method of Nonylphenols in Invisible Killer in Biosphere

Brand poisoned clothes, have you held live?

-- The invisible killer of biotin

Recently, with the release of the latest investigation report issued by the International Greenpeace Organization, "Poisoning in the clothing - the investigation of toxic and hazardous substances in global brand clothing", many well-known international clothing brands have been deeply involved. Tracing back to the source, the focus of this series of events is the two major environmental hormones - nonylphenol polyoxyethylene ether (NPE) and its hydrolysate nonylphenol (NP). People who are concerned about current events may soon recall that in 2010 the organization’s investigation report on the Yangtze River fish body already mentioned the problem of NP exceeding the standard in fish. Is it the source or the coincidence? Let us explore the true face of the two invisible killers NPE and NP.

As a non-ionic surfactant, NPE is widely used in various production stages of the textile industry and enters thousands of households with finished garments. After being washed with water, NPE can be quickly dissolved into water and decomposed into NP. As a world-recognized environmental hormone, NP is highly toxic and difficult to decompose. It can interfere with the endocrine system of natural organisms including human body through the step-by-step amplification effect of oral contact and environmental food chain. The research data showed that NPs in the ppb level were detected in the domestic Yangtze River fish. At such a low concentration, NP can promote the female sexization of male fish and lead to the decline of biological population and physical variation. The proportion of NP detected in girls with precocious puberty is also higher than that of normal girls. The sequelae can even affect offspring, such as directly reducing the number of male sperm. It is no exaggeration to say that NP is launching the domino model of its stealth killer through direct and indirect cumulative effects.

In this regard, the developed countries such as the European Union have already legislated to restrict the use of NPE, and domestic regulatory authorities and research institutes have begun to gradually strengthen the development of NPE and NP detection methods and establish relevant standards, such as: SN/T 1850.2-2006 alkyl in textiles. Determination of phenols and alkylphenol ethoxylates - Part 2: High performance liquid chromatography - mass spectrometry. In many trace detection methods of environmental hormones, it is necessary to use Milli-Q ultrapure water as a blank sample or for the preparation of various related reagents and mobile phases. For this reason, Merck Millipore has developed a special product for removing water. The EDS-Pak, a terminal filter for trace environmental hormones, has been proved by challenging experiments that EDS-Pak can further control the concentration of NP, Biophenol A and other environmental hormones at the ppt level based on Milli-Q ultrapure water. Meet the ultimate inspection needs. The following is a comparison of the results of the challenging experiments with the liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry of the mobile phase prepared with Milli-Q ultrapure water before and after EDS-Pak treatment:

The EDS-Pak terminal filter can be installed in the water terminal of any Milli-Q ultra-pure water system of Merck Millipore via standard interface. The high-purity activated carbon particles contained in it ensure the production of more than 300L of environmental hormone-free professional. Grade ultrapure water.



Each EDS-Pak terminal filter is equipped with a quality assurance certificate for traceability and quality tracking of water quality, meeting the water quality analysis needs of various types of institutions of higher learning, research institutes, government environmental protection, water supply and other regulatory authorities.



At the SAMe time, Merck Millipore's NP detection method also provides an overall inspection solution including Purospher® STAR columns and chromatographic grade reagents to ensure your testing is safe.


Merck Millipore will work with you to maintain the purity of the natural environment, away from environmental hormones and endocrine disruptors such as NPE and NP.